


The Art of Bonsai

by MinervaFan



Category: La Femme Nikita (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-16
Updated: 2010-12-16
Packaged: 2020-03-01 04:39:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18793174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinervaFan/pseuds/MinervaFan
Summary: "A tree that is left growing in its natural state is a crude thing. It is only when it is kept close to human beings who fashion it with loving care that its shape and style acquire the ability to move one." - The Tale of the Hollow Tree





	The Art of Bonsai

Title: The Art of Bonsai  
Author: [](https://minerva-fan.livejournal.com/profile)[**minerva_fan**](https://minerva-fan.livejournal.com/)  
Fandom: La Femme Nikita (TV)  
Ship: None  
Character: Madeline  
Summary: "A tree that is left growing in its natural state is a crude thing. It is only when it is kept close to human beings who fashion it with loving care that its shape and style acquire the ability to move one." - The Tale of the Hollow Tree  
A/N: Written for [](https://ogew.livejournal.com/profile)[**ogew**](https://ogew.livejournal.com/) for our Advent Calender challenge.

The art of bonsai is a meticulous thing. It is not a task for the coarse or the impatient. Bonsai does not create dwarves; it carefully conditions normal size things to maintain a precise size, shape, and aesthetic.

Madeline tends her bonsai as an artist lovingly tends her canvas. She is patient, graceful, and content to let the process work in its own time. She is artful.

The bonsai is a metaphor for life. In a limited space, conditioned to thrive in confinement, the bonsai is a perfectly maintained reflection of the grosser external reality. Within its cells lies the potential for grandeur, yet each leaf, each branch, each element remains controlled and in sync with the necessities of its environment.

On occasion, a branch may strike out beyond the narrow confines of the grower's vision. It will struggle for freedom, for individuality, to grow wild amongst the perfectly ordered branches.

When this happens, Madeline will do everything possible to gently guide the offending back into order. She will snip and shape and pull until conformity is restored, and harmony is achieved.

When a branch will not be conditioned, however, it is imperative that the grower does not hesitate to remove it completely. It is not an act of cruelty, destroying a branch that will not shape properly. The elimination of this branch strenghtens the whole, restores balance, and maintains harmony.

Madeline has nurtured her bonsai plants for many years. There are some who even say she loves them, after a fashion.

But no branch is safe from her appraising eye, and she keeps her tools very, very sharp.

End


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